John Bel Edwards: “the first 16 words of the Bill of Rights enshrined in our psyche in this country, the belief that every American citizen…”

“the first 16 words of the Bill of Rights enshrined in our psyche in this country, the belief that every American citizen should have the right to his or her own religious views. I want to point out, Mr. Speaker, to colleagues here in the House and to the people across this country, that in this legislation is language that will make it perfectly legal for an American citizen to receive, say, a $5 million job training grant, or a Head Start grant, and then using those tax dollars, that one American citizen can say to another citizen, if you do not pass my private religious test, then you do not qualify for a tax-funded job. In effect, what this bill does is to subsidize, not just tolerate, but to subsidize religious bigotry in America. How ironic, at a time when we are fighting for religious freedom in Iraq and across the world, that we would pass legislation that would maintain in the law a prescription for religious discrimination. I think it is wrong to do so, and I would be willing to even yield some of my time to any Republican Member that would stand up and tell me that it is okay in 2004 in America to say that you should have to pass my religious test to qualify for a federally-funded job. That is wrong, and it should not be a partisan issue. It is an American issue, because it is ingrained in the very first 16 words of the Bill of Rights that has protected America's religious liberty for over two centuries.”